Gallery: Young chefs battle it out in competition to become Suffolk’s best young amateur chef

The heat was on in the kitchen as teenagers took part in a culinary battle in a bid to find the county’s best young chef.

The Suffolk Young Cooks competition gave teens, aged 13 to 17, the chance to show off their cookery skills and impress their contemporaries and the judges with their dishes which were all made from a list of locally-sourced ingredients.

After some creative cooking, the competition reached the final round last night with 14-year-old Holly Sentance, from Samuel Ward Academy in Haverhill, Joel Ridgeway, also 14, from Samuel Ward Academy and 17-year-old Panipak Koonnwarote, from the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook battling it out in the heat of the kitchen.

It was eventually Joel who came out on top with his recipe for a deconstructed pork and chilli burger with a chilli sauce/salsa and homemade bread roll served with sweet potato wedges as his main course.

It was followed by a desert of apple fool with stewed apples, homemade cake with a layer of homemade custard, and a meringue topping.

The food was judged by Chris Lee, head chef at the Packhorse Inn in Moulton, near Newmarket, and held at Suffolk New College.